CHAPTER 902: CHAPTER 902: THE GREAT MIGRATION

Though Chu Guang has raised many flags before, this time, the mystical power of his words didn’t seem to manifest.

Singular Point City is very safe.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that it is much safer than any settlement of the Alliance.

Moreover, time here seems to slow down, and even the birds flying past occasionally move leisurely, making it enviable.

Under the coordination of AI, not only has human harmony reached its highest level, but humans and other species have achieved a co-prosperity without conflict.

The agricultural division on the west side of Singular Point City.

Watching the farmer lazily basking in The Sun on the field ridge and the sparrow having a buffet nearby, Chu Guang, accompanied by Frost, captured this moment that resembles a world-famous painting.

After a smile, he suddenly let out a sigh.

"...To be honest, I never thought you guys would succeed at the time. I even had a plan in place for your failure and how to take over the mess afterward."

His concerns were not entirely unfounded.

After all, the original residents of this settlement were not good people, among them were many crafty, treacherous individuals and even some who had pledged loyalty to the Torch.

In terms of moral standards, it’s possible that those mixed-race individuals expelled by the mutant tribe might have higher integrity.

The truly innocent probably were only those whom the Alliance rescued from the mutant tribe that had been raised like livestock.

However, comparatively, those rescued captives lacked even the most basic social attributes, not to mention the ability to be self-sufficient.

These two groups fall into the category of individuals within the Alliance society with the highest "assimilation costs."

The public resources required to enable them to positively contribute to society are three times the average, or even more.

This includes, but is not limited to, taking prosthetics from Home of the Refugees, looting shelves and dumplings from rescue stations, and deceiving other Waste Land Wanderers who have just joined the Alliance.

Yet miraculously, Singular Point City successfully assimilated them.

Or to put it more accurately, their inherently unrestrained nature unexpectedly adapted well to the city’s strict and overwhelming rules.

Hearing Chu Guang’s praise, Frost smiled shyly yet proudly and said.

"You flatter us... Although from your perspective we seem to have done well, in my opinion, we are still far from ultimate success."

Chu Guang glanced at it.

"What is your ultimate success?"

Frost spoke in a gentle tone.

"At the very least, we have to be able to operate completely independently without relying on external assistance."

Chu Guang was momentarily taken aback by this and laughed.

"That goal... is indeed too ambitious. Not even any settlement of the Alliance can achieve it."

"Isn’t it? Singular Point City still has a long way to go..." Frost sighed lightly. "Honestly, sometimes I have pessimistic thoughts that this might be an inherently unachievable goal."

Chu Guang asked with slight surprise.

"You feel pessimistic as well?"

"I am a bio-mechanical entity, not a robot. A 1% calculation probability is the threshold for my emotional component. Below this threshold, I begin to feel depressed."

Frost nodded and sighed before continuing.

"Our cultivated land area has tripled, crop production has increased several times, people’s lives are exceptionally affluent, yet we remain unable to free ourselves from dependency on the outside world."

"Furthermore, there are always two distinct circumstances here: Some are highly motivated but constantly planning to leave, while another part is spiritually lethargic. Although they don’t plan to leave, they become increasingly reliant on our care, performing tasks passively and reducing energy consumption to adapt to our minimal living standards, eventually becoming more like machines but far less efficient."

Although in principle, those who leave Singular Point City can’t take anything with them; the conversion rate of labor points into silver coin earnings is pathetically low, but knowledge and skills don’t count as things and are nearly free in Singular Point City.

Except for sleeping at prescribed times, people can freely spend their leisure time.

Those eager to leave spend a significant amount of spare time learning knowledge and skills, yet paradoxically, these are the very individuals Frost most hopes to retain.

Though Frost tried procuring some indulgences from Ideal City to reward these talents within the framework allowed by the Alliance Constitution, it only delayed their departure, without changing the ultimate outcome.

In reality, Singular Point City has become a production base for supplying professional talent and inexpensive food products to the Alliance, without nurturing a new social form that can completely surpass the Alliance and other settlements in the wasteland.

Once deprived of external innovative inputs, this isolated settlement will turn stagnant and enter a downward spiral.

Chu Guang noticed this suddenly.

The automation penetration rate here is somehow lower than the neighboring Dusty Town.

Frost beside Chu Guang suddenly asked abruptly.

"Is it human nature?"

Chu Guang contemplated for a moment and gave a vague answer.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t."

Frost stared at him, insistently asking.

"My cognitive plugin indicates that you have a better answer... Please don’t hesitate, you are one of the most visionary organisms I’ve encountered, and your opinion is incredibly valuable to me."

Listening to this peculiar remark, Chu Guang displayed a helpless expression, sighed, and said.

"How should I say... the idea of ’better’ is itself a false proposition. Most real-world issues don’t have a standard or optimal solution, only relatively suitable solutions. In my view, your concern, rather than human nature, seems more like a natural law."

Frost: "Natural law?"

Chu Guang nodded and directed his gaze to the golden landscape sprawling far into the distance.

"Over the past tens of thousands of years, we’ve drawn more than one conclusion, but not a single conclusion can resolve all the problems we encounter across historical periods."

"I’m more inclined to believe that an absolutely perfect approach never existed from the start."

"The United Human once nearly reached perfection. The Prosperity Epoch fulfilled all our old era imaginations of the future, yet the result of a linear upward rise was ultimately, as we see today, a linear fall."

Seeing Frost deep in thought, Chu Guang abruptly shifted his tone and patted its shoulder with a smile.

"However, the journey of exploring ’ultimate propositions’ itself is far from meaningless... Whether it’s physics or sociology, we always find unexpected discoveries on the path to exploring perfection, which is far more beneficial than standing still."

"Keep moving forward. Perhaps someday in the future, the Alliance will rely on you for salvation."

He’s prepared many baskets for the eggs, and outside the Alliance, there’s also the South Sea Union.

As long as there are enough options, he will find the right one.

Even if existing methods don’t work, future alliances will create new ones.

He believes that his children harbor this potential.

And this force to keep the Alliance eternally youthful is far more useful than countless inheritances left for future generations to squander.

Sensing the warmth emanating from the palm, Frost, suddenly amazed, understood his meaning in an instant, and then showed a knowing smile.

"It’s quite shameful that my confusion needs to be answered by my client... Thank you, I will heed your advice and continue forward."

It seemed to gain a new understanding of its work, while also regaining its vigor.

Chu Guang smiled and nodded, speaking with a gentle tone.

"With your reassurance, I can relax."

...

Chu Guang spent the entire afternoon touring Singular Point City, visiting its farm, as well as the local clothing and soda factories.

The enthusiasm for production here was similar to that of the factories and farmlands, not particularly high, but sufficient to meet the needs of the settlement itself.

The night passed without words.

After a night’s rest, Chu Guang woke up at dawn in the guest house. He said goodbye to Frost, Solar Eclipse, and the others, then headed straight to the station outside Singular Point City.

Most of the travelers waiting on the platform were the same people who got off the train yesterday.

In addition, there were some young people or middle-aged men carrying matching suitcases, looking as hopeful and eager as players just stepping out of the Novice Village.

No matter their reasons for coming to Singular Point City, it seemed they all had perked up and were ready to hit the road again.

At this moment, Chu Guang noticed the "residency application" registration desk at the settlement’s entrance. Besides Waste Land Wanderers from the Wasteland, there were some residents from Ideal City as well.

These people seemed to be from the same group of travelers who disembarked. After a day of exploration, they did not leave with their fellow travelers who were still enjoying the trip, but instead seemed to decide to stay and join the Singular Point City family.

Chu Guang was curious about their thoughts, so he used a holographic disguise device to alter his appearance and spoke to a young man wearing non-prescription glasses.

"Hey man, do you think life here is good?"

The young man didn’t notice anything strange about Chu Guang’s disguised voice and appeared quite talkative, responding with a hearty laugh.

"Why not? In Ideal City, my room is only twenty square meters, without windows, and with only a ventilation duct for cold and hot air. Even if I work hard my whole life, I may never see real sunlight in my room... But here, I just have to lie down on the ground to get it."

Seeing this overly optimistic young man, Chu Guang kindly reminded him.

"But there’s no Endpoint Cloud here and probably won’t be any in the future."

"That’s even better. I’ve long been bored of the boundaryless virtual world. The AI there all act like obedient puppets, and real people beneath their virtual facades are as ugly as they can be... including myself. Honestly, I came here to stay far away from Endpoint Cloud," the young man laughed heartily, shrugged, and continued, "Besides, if I get bored, I can always leave."

Actually, that last sentence was the key point.

Hearing this young man’s answer, Chu Guang was amused but also helpless.

He initially feared people would treat this "rehab center" as a resort, but now it seemed his worries might have come true.

However...

This didn’t seem to be a bad thing.

The conversation he had with Frost yesterday impacted not only Frost; it also quietly shifted some of his own thoughts.

Even if his worries manifested, it didn’t necessarily mean they would lead to the worst possible outcome.

Even if he preemptively prepared for everything to eliminate hidden dangers, the final result might not necessarily be as he wished.

After chatting a bit more with the talkative young man, he leisurely returned to the entrance of the official passage.

At this moment, the train heading south just arrived at the station, and Lu Bei, dressed formally, quietly approached him.

"Sir... our reserved carriage has arrived at the station, and my colleagues have already checked it. Please follow me."

Seeing the seriousness on Lu Bei’s face, Chu Guang nodded and smiled.

"Alright, let’s go, let’s not keep the other passengers waiting."

Until Chu Guang settled into his reserved compartment, none of them drew any attention from the passengers.

The next stop was Weifu City.

After passing Weifu City and Ten Peaks Mountain, it’s the Haiye Province, which borders the southern sea area... I’ve heard it’s bustling there recently.

Due to his "shock therapy" plan for the Eastern Provinces at the beginning of the year, many Waste Land Wanderers migrated to the ten settlements along the Haiye Province coast.

Besides many Waste Land Wanderers settling there, there were also survivors from Poluo Province and Weilante people from the army.

Some retired expeditionary soldiers chose to stay locally, while others crossed the seas to seek refuge or gold.

The space elevator and gravity well projects brought enormous employment opportunities and business prospects; the continuous influx of immigrants brought skills, wealth, and labor.

This asset is far richer than the "Meissner effect armor" Mafu Town sold to the Alliance.

Especially with the help of Mammoth Nation labor, the South Sea Union gradually emerged from the shadow of civil war.

This Survivor Force, also fostered by residents of the refuge, is like an engine revived for a second spring, using two centuries of technological reserves and maritime construction experience as fuel to drive the development of the entire southern sea area coast!

Today, Haiye Province is gradually replacing Poluo Province’s Jinjaron Harbor and Mammoth City, becoming the next emerging market sought after by investors.

Unlike when the Alliance industrialists first rushed to Jinjaron Harbor, today’s Alliance has different production methods and financial tools.

The miracles spawned there might be even more astounding than those in Poluo Province.

Chu Guang took a copy of the "Survivor’s Daily" issued by No.1 Settlement from X-16’s hand, which was printed using the train’s printer.

He shook the newspaper open on his lap and looked at the headline.

It depicted a legless Weilante old soldier wearing Southern Legion’s standard uniform, standing dusty-faced in line to receive a free prosthetic at the Home of the Refugees.

Besides the second-rate editors of Dawn City "Survivor’s Daily", most regions’ "Survivor’s Daily" were quite proficient at drawing satirical cartoons.

Including Giant Stone City.

Below the illustration, the accompanying text was ironically written:

[Unprecedented "Population Migration"! The "Salvation Nest" cargo ship arrives at No.1 Settlement!]

It was clear that the editor of this report should be a Moon person.

Although this gentleman tried to ensure objectivity and already restrained his emotions in wording and expression, one could still discern a slight disdain between the lines.

Chu Guang’s eyebrows slightly raised, revealing a somewhat surprised expression.

"Are these people immigrants from Evernight Harbor?"

Xiao Qi, sitting on his shoulder, nodded and said.

"They should be... I think there’s a post about them on the forum."

Chu Guang knew the post Xiao Qi mentioned.

About half a month ago, someone named [Tarlan Raider] started serializing a short story on the forum, documenting the legends of Evernight Harbor and Blackwater Alley.

This short story just began unveiling the Enlightenment Society’s part, with the "Guide" hiding in Evernight Harbor and their unspeakable world-ending plan just emerging from the shadows.

Chu Guang was also following the thread, but so far, it seemed that the sudden appearance of the "Desert Army" had not made much progress.

The blockade and large-scale suppression activities in Evernight Harbor were still ongoing, so they might not make any reckless moves.

The post mentioned a merchant named Yarman and his ship "Salvation Nest". It was said that the twelve ships carried up to five thousand people and over a thousand tons of gold.

After understanding the situation, Chu Guang specially sent a telegram to Li Minghui, instructing his fleet not to accidentally harm the civilians onboard.

He just didn’t expect these twelve ships to travel so fast, already arriving...